


So you're like my ninja girlfriend?

by Snap_crackle_spock



Category: DC Animated Universe, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - High School, Artemis is an assassin, Assassin!AU, F/M, Pretty sure this hasn't been done before, Slow Burn, Wally is oblivious, Zatanna is an escape artist, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-24 13:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8373577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snap_crackle_spock/pseuds/Snap_crackle_spock
Summary: Artemis was going to Murder Wally West. Like, capital M, Murder. As in homicide, kill, end him, destroy his life, he was gonna die. But… The operative word in that sentence is ‘was.’ Things changed, life happened, and suddenly Artemis finds herself in this ridiculously absurd situation where instead of wanting him dead, she suddenly is willing to fight to keep him alive.





	1. Welcome to Happy Harbor

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So I've been binging Young Justice on Netflix (for the hundredth time) and got struck with the idea for this. 
> 
> Um, yeah, sorry for the wacky AU, but that's sort of my thing (Hamilton Star Wars!AU, Steven Universe Royalty!AU, tc. etc. I'm about the weird AU's.) (Feel free to check out any of those on my page)
> 
> Anywho, as always, I hope you enjoy!

“Don’t be stupid, Wally,” The ever present voice of Dick Grayson came from -as usual- out of nowhere in the crowded hallway of Happy Harbor High. Wally would’ve stumbled, if he hadn’t been used to it by now. But this was super-ninja Dick Grayson, and super-ninja Dick Grayson had this annoying habit of appearing and disappearing, usually while whatever person he was talking to was still talking. Usually with a lingering cackle as the only sign he’d ever been there in the first time.

So, instead of jumping, or screaming, or anything a  _ normal _ person would do, Wally just shrugged and said, “Stupid? Me? Never.” Then he took a moment to review what Dick had said to him and backtracked, “Wait, what am I being stupid about?”

“A little birdie named Zatanna told me that you were thinking about asking the one and only Megan Morse on a date. A  _ date, _ Wally? With  _ Megan _ freaking  _ Morse? _ Jesus, talk about out of your league. Have you even been on a date with a real life girl? Like, ever? At all?”

“How did Zatanna even find out about that?” Wally muttered before putting the thought out of his head. Zatanna was a homeschooled girl who sneaks out every once in awhile and comes to Happy Harbor High, claiming to be Dick’s cousin and just tagging along his daily schedule. The teachers did nothing about it, as she didn’t really  _ disturb _ the class, though Wally had a sneaking suspicion that it was just because Dick’s dad was the principle of the school and he was fine with his kid’s shenanigans. The point was, nine out of ten days, Zatanna wasn’t even at their high school. So how on this green earth did  _ she _ manage to find about something he didn’t even say  _ out loud  _ to anyone? But, again, he’d grown accustomed to his friend’s ways. He didn’t need answers, he needed friends who weren’t ammature escape artists or ninjas. “Never mind, the real questions is why do you care?”

“I care because Conner Kent will actually murder you if he hears about this.” Dick said, somehow managing to easily keep pace with Wally, even though the latter was twice his size  _ and _ was speed walking. Wally was already running late for track practice, he didn’t have time for Dick’s backhanded questions. 

“What are you talking about?” Wally groaned, ducking around a couple giving a horrific exposition in public displays of affection before falling back into step next to his slightly less horrific best friend. 

“Have you not noticed?” Dick asked, and Wally could see his eyebrows arching behind his dark glasses, “Dude, you have like three classes with both of them.” Wally rolled his eyes at the news that,  _ of course, _ Dick knew his schedule. He should’ve realized by now. The kid once hacked into his Twitter account and typed a 57 tweet essay about why he was so much better than Wally. (Dick’s words, not his own. He’d deleted the tweets the moment he’d heard about it.) 

“Noticed what, Grayson?” Wally rolled his eyes, “Get to the point. I have places to be.”

“They’re dating, dipshit.” Dick said, “Jeez, I thought it was obvious. She always smiles only at him during football nights, even when she’s the flier for the cheerleader stunts.”

“The  _ what?” _ Wally asked, shouldering the door to the outdoor track open.

“The  _ flier.” _ Dick said, pointing to the football field where the cheerleaders were already practicing. Wally watched as they threw the one and only Megan Morse into the air, and she twisted into the flip before falling back into the arms of the girls on the ground. “The one that they throw in the air. Do you know nothing of basic acrobatics?”

“No?” Wally said, because it was obvious. “Most people really don’t.” 

“Whatever,” Dick grumbled, and Wally got the feeling that he’d said the wrong thing. He  _ hated _ it when Dick did that, because Wally was the normal one in their duo. It was that little creep that had all of the abilities someone who planned to take over the world possessed, and yet he still managed to make Wally feel like the bad guy. “They’re dating, Wall-man. Don’t get into the middle of it, Conner would probably break your arm.”

“You don’t know-” he said, only to trail off when he realized that Dick had disappeared.  _ How, _ Wally wasn’t exactly sure. It was an empty parking lot, how the hell did he do it? There weren’t even any cars nearby for him to hide behind, which Wally wouldn’t put past Dick to do to add to the dramatic effect. “-that.” 

One eye roll later, Wally was over it. He would figure out where Dick hid his invisibility cloak later. Now was for track practice. He needed this after the day he’d had. While he was an absolute prodige in chemistry (he had the awards to prove it) other classes weren’t quite as strong. Particularly gym. It wasn’t that he was out of shape, he wasn’t. He was the captain of the track team and took daily two mile runs, minimum. It had more to do with the fact that that Mark Desmond was in his gym class and they were playing dodgeball on that particular day. Now, Wally didn’t know what had happened to that kid over the summer, but steroids  _ must _ have been involved because nobody gains that amount of muscle that quickly.

So yeah, he needed this.

What he did not need was an angry looking girl with a green sweater and a wild blonde hair to practically plow over him. And yet, life had a funny way of giving him just that. 

“Would you watch where you’re going?” The annoyed voice rang through the parking lot after they walked into each other. Wally shot a look to her, only to see her face already twisted into a sneer. 

“Watch where  _ I’m _ going?” He asked, bewildered, “You’re the one nearly walked over  _ me!” _ And, okay, maybe he had been looking at the ground too much to really pay attention to his surroundings. So what? He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of being right when she was -at the very least- just as much at fault.

“Whatever,” She let her eyes roll, readjusting the duffle bag on her shoulder that, like her sweater, was an ugly shade of dull green, “Do you know where the gym is?”

“It’s a week into the second quarter,” Wally shot back, with just as much bite as this mystery girl had been giving to him, “Don’t you think it’s a little bit late to not know where the gym is?” There was probably a good explanation as to why she didn’t know where she was going (probably a transfer student) and, under normal circumstances, Wally would be glad to point her in the right direction. Maybe even give her his number and a flirtatious wink. But this girl comes and worsens an already pretty damn horrific day, not to mention the fact that the coach would probably make him run extra laps or something for being so late to practice, that he did not care about being nice at this particular moment.

“Forget it,” She turned away, probably a little more aggressive than really necessary, and grumbled off to the main building (which, for the record, was the wrong way. The gym was in the building on the right side of campus.) and grumbled a short, “I’ll find it myself.” 

Wally wanted to give her a snappy comeback, but by the time he actually thought of one, she was already inside the building.  _ Doesn’t matter, _ he thought,  _ it’s a big school. It’s not like I’m ever gonna see  _ her _ again. _

With that thought putting a smile back on his face, he turned on his heels back to the field where the football kids were on the majority of the field, the cheerleaders on a smaller portion, and the rest of his track team were waiting, already starting their stretches. He broke into a jog and let the thoughts of his horrible encounter drift from his mind.

If only it fucking lasted…

 

* * *

  
  


Artemis didn’t believe in chance encounters. She planned her life into too much detail to leave anything to chance or fate or whatever you chose to call it. She’d been raised since birth to never leave anything to chance. And today was no different.

She knew where the gym was. She knew that she was exactly five minutes late for the archery team try-out that she’d arranged. She knew that Wallace Rudolph West was also running five minutes late for the after school activity he’d been scheduled for. She knew this because she knew his schedule like the back of her hand, because that was her job.

The family business, as her dad so fondly called it. The Crock family of crooks, as Jade loved to say. And, to be fair, Artemis couldn’t really disagree. It was all she knew. She’d learned how to fire an arrow before she could walk, and she’d learned to stab someone in the cleanest way possible before she could read. 

Ever since she could remember, the cycle would always repeat itself. They’d get a target, sometimes for her, sometimes for her sister, sometimes for one of her parents, they’d spend about a month doing research before putting their plan into action. After that, it was only a matter of time before they made their kill, cleaned it all up, probably framed one of the parents, and lay low until their next assignment. Then they’d pack up, move, and start the whole process all over again. It was their way of life, and Artemis had learned to cope.

When her mother had gotten caught in the middle of a job, she’d hardly blinked as she and the rest of her family hung her out to dry. That was their policy, you get caught, you pay the price. In this family, it’s girl for herself. So she’d stood on the sidelines and played dumb while her mother was cuffed and the cops pulled her wheelchair into one of the highest level prisons in the state they’d been in at the time. 

This time was different. While she worked on West at Happy Harbor High (not even the most ridiculous name she’d heard for a high school in her travels across the country) Jade was doing another case at Gotham City University, about a three hour drive from where they currently were. Some guy named Roy Harper, if she remembered correctly. It was risky, to do work so close to each other, but the client (Artemis never got to meet them. That privilege was reserved for her father.) had insisted that it was both taken out or nothing. Not to mention that the price was, by Crock standards, well above average. Whoever it was, they had to be some sort of millionaire to be willing to spend so much on getting two kids taken out. 

So no, the fact that she’d walked into Wally was not an accident. It was all completely pre-rehearsed. She’d needed to get an up-close view of what he looked like, just in case the pictures they’d gathered didn’t do him justice. Though, in this case, justice wasn’t the right word for it. 

When they’d been searching him up, they’d gotten pictures from everywhere. Instagram, school database, local newspapers, anything that had the name ‘Wally West’ on it. But none of those pictures could compare to the real thing. In real life, Wally looked brighter than he did in any photograph. His hair was redder, his eyes were greener, his ears were bigger, and his freckles were more pronounced. He looked more alive in person than he did an any of the hundreds of pictures they had of him. 

Once their encounter was over and she’d sized him up (five feet, eight inches tall. A body built for running. Not much of an ‘easy target’ but not the hardest she’d taken down.) and continued on her way, though, she couldn’t shake a feeling in her gut. She couldn’t quite place what it was, but it didn’t feel like anything she’d ever experienced on a case. 

As she went through the motions for the Archery team’s sponsor (Oliver Queen, who apparently also taught World Government during the day and, when Archery season ends, helped his girlfriend Dinah with self defense classes) and easily impressed, hitting the center of whatever he put in front of her. While he said ‘he’d let her know by next week’, the wink he gave afterwards told her all she needed to know. 

At every school, the archery team was a must. It was the easiest way to bring a weapon into school without raising suspicion. If it wasn’t the season, that involved a ridiculous amount of research on her part to find anywhere in the school guidelines that could be used as a loop hole. If not, she’d have to deal with having to find a way to smuggle a weapon in, and that always lead to problems. Artemis hated problems.

This was easy, though. The season had just started and it was no hassle to secure a spot on the team. Step two, done and done. But now was the hard part.

Step three: get into the crowd. It was up to Artemis to blend in, which was easier said than done. She knew exactly who she would need to get in contact with to weasel her way into Wally’s inner circle, and she’d meticulously picked her classes to get the best chances of being place with at least one of his close friends or, at the very least, associates. 

And she wasn’t disappointed, either. Homeroom and Chemistry were both with Wally, giving her optimal time to break down his walls. In the meantime, she’d spend English 11 and Pre-Calc attempting to get Dick Grayson to like her, share a PE class with Megan Morse, and had Biology  _ and _ debate with Kaldur Ahm and Conner Kent, two apparent ‘musts’ for getting a secured spot in the circle.

From what her research has told her, Dick was the adoptive son of the principle of the school -Bruce Wayne- and had a knack for finding himself in sticky situations with some girl named Zatanna Zatara. (that was her  _ actual _ name, can you believe?) Aside from that, all she could find was that he was the school’s computer club president. Whoever he was, he knew how to clean up his trail, which made it all the more critical for her to keep an eye on him. 

Megan was a different story entirely. She’d moved with her uncle John to Happy Harbor not long before Artemis, and was already making waves. Cheerleader, founder of the school’s book club, owner of a fan-tumblr for an old 80’s show called ‘Hello Megan,’ and a  _ definite  _ contender for Junior prom court this year. Open book for the classic ‘girl next door.’ Making friends with her wouldn’t be hard.

Kaldur wouldn’t be much of a challenge, either. The school’s golden boy, Kaldur (Kal, as he insisted to be called) was Junior student body president on the student council, a straight A student, had been awarded MVP on the swim team on three different occasions, and was currently dating a girl named Tulip, as if he couldn’t get any sweeter. While Megan was prom court material, he was a shoo-in for Junior King. It was practically written in the profile she’d drafted for him that he would be nice to her. From what she’d heard already, he was nice to everyone.

The only real problem that arose was Conner. According to every website she cross checked, he didn’t even exist until a year ago. All she could find was that his instagram (308 followers, 1 following) had nothing but pictures of his scary looking motorcycle and a white husky that was big and dirty enough to be a wolf. Other than that, she could only find his high school transcripts, and even those were under more of a lock and key than usual. Even when she’d forwarded them to Jade, her sister could only get out that his dad’s name was Clark, he apparently didn’t have a mother, and he had some sort of connection with the bazillionaire Lex Luthor.

Artemis wasn’t used to handling problems she couldn’t assess, so until she could figure out what was up with Conner, she didn’t plan on making any moves. 

With all of that expertly orchestrated by her, she only had one last thing she needed to get done. She needed to meet Zatanna.

 

* * *

  
  


Zatanna Zatara had a list of exactly five things that she excelled at. 

  1. She could always make both of the wings of her eyeliner match in length and width on the first try. When she’d told Megan (one of Dick’s friends) about it, the other girl had nearly had a stroke, claiming that it was simply impossible.
  2. She could say any word backwards, no matter how complex it was. She’d once tested this theory with Dick, using a simple recording app on his phone and reversing it to see how far her powers went. So far, she was the reigning champ of the backwards olympics. (She couldn’t take full credit, though, her dad hat taught her when she was younger. 
  3. She could do just about anything in heels. She’s jumped from roof to roof, scaled walls, and climbed up ladders in the cutest boots with ridiculous heels. She’d once almost gotten through an entire PE class without the teacher noticing until he’d called her out last minute. Then again, she had honestly been surprised he hadn’t noticed earlier, as she was a head taller than any of the other kids. 
  4. She was an amature escape artist, and was constantly testing herself. Ye olde rope knots? She’d learned how to untie them behind her back years ago. Handcuffs? She taught herself how to pick the lock with a bobby pin she always kept up her sleeve (literally) without looking. She was currently working on mapping out how to break out from the inside of a human-sized safe with Dick.
  5. She always knew when someone was lying.



So it wasn’t difficult to figure out that the girl that she’d never seen before who just  _ happened _ to be walking outside of her house, claiming that her family had just moved into the neighborhood, when there hadn’t even been any moving trucks recently was definitely hiding something. But Zatanna was bored, and she hated being bored, so she’d decided to indulge the girl.

Her name was Artemis Crock, and her family had just moved to Happy Harbor from Gotham, but that was about it as far as sharing went. It was mostly just small talk as the two girls walked around the gated neighborhood, Artemis admiring the houses and Zatanna trying to pick apart Artemis.

There were these very basic tells that all people had when they were lying, like closing their eyes for more than a second at a time or up and to the right. And, well, color Zatanna impressed because Artemis wasn’t displaying any of these basic traits. But there had to be  _ something _ that she was hiding, because Zatanna never got The Feeling when someone was telling the truth.

“So,” she asked, shoving her hands into her black jacket’s pockets, “are you going to Happy Harbor High?” 

“Yeah, actually,” Artemis nodded, eyes roving over a large brick home, “though I’m not quite sure how well that’s going to go. It’s bad enough to be the new girl, let alone the new girl in the middle of the year.” 

“I know how that is,” Zatanna nodded, and when Artemis gave her a strange look, she followed with, “My bestie, Dick Grayson, he goes there. I’m homeschooled, but sometimes I sneak out and tag along with him in his classes. I can’t say I don’t get weird looks, but anything’s better than home.”

“It’s that bad?” Artemis asked, though a look in her eyes led Zatanna to believe that her home life was ‘that bad.’ 

“Not really,” she shrugged, “I just have a really overprotective dad. It can be difficult having a helicopter parent, you know?”

“I do,” Artemis nodded, “my mom left a few years ago, and since then my dad’s really been harping on me and my sister to get into the family business. She’s really into it, she’s always been dad’s favorite, but I just don’t think it’s for me.”

“The family business?”

And there, right there, was the quick eye dart up and right that Zatanna had been waiting for. The signal that Artemis was keeping something from her. “Uh, yeah,” the blonde girl said, “he was in the military for a while and has his heart set on Jade and I joining when we’re old enough.”

Now, Zatanna didn’t exactly appreciate being blatantly lied to, don’t get her wrong, but this was the greatest mystery since the Great Shoe Fiasco of 2013, and she was itching for Dick to come to her with his theories. So, instead of calling Artemis out, she stopped on the pavement, her boot heels brushing against the ground. 

“Look, you seem really cool, if a little helpless about the whole school situation. So here’s the deal, I’m gonna text my friend Dick, tell him to meet you tomorrow by the front entrance of the school, and he can introduce you to the rest of the group. And, hey, if you absolutely hate them, you’ll never have to see them again.” She held out a hand, “Cool?”

Artemis grinned back and took ahold of the extended hand, “Definitely cool.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis and Wally share some feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this might be a little bit sloppy, but I've had such a week, let me tell you. From the election, to young justice getting renewed (!!!!!!), to secret santas, to doing two shows in two days. Life is crazy, but we still power through!

In the end, Zatanna came through. When Artemis got to school the next day, waiting right out front was Dick Grayson. And it was only  _ slightly  _ intimidating to find that, oh, he’d brought Megan and Kaldur with him. 

Now, in their family, Jade was the people person. She had a charisma about her that enticed almost anyone that met her. She knew how to banter politely without coming off as standoffish. Artemis had never been able to master. Usually, when it was both of them working on something, she’d stick to the behind the scenes work. While Jade crashed fancy parties she’d never actually gotten invited to, Artemis stayed in their van in the parking lot and observed the video feed to make sure they weren’t caught. 

So, yeah, talking wasn’t her fourte. Whatever, this was her job. She needed to get over it because this line of work didn’t have room for a comfort zone. You cope and you keep going, or else. She’d learned to adapt at a young age because when you don’t you fall behind. 

Besides, Megan and Kaldur were supposed to be the nice ones. It’s not like they’d really care if she wasn’t exactly the most welcoming person. 

“You’re Artemis?” Dick asked, grinning at her in a way that reminded Artemis of the way a wolf would grin at it’s prey.  _ Definitely  _ not as warm as the kind smile that Megan had, which seemed to illuminate her entire face, or the gentle nod that Kaldur gave her. 

“Yeah, you’re Dick?” She asked as if she didn’t already know as much as the internet had to offer. Which wasn’t exactly a lot, but she was hoping that she’d learn more once she actually got to know him. 

“Yep,” he shook her hand, even though she didn’t have it extended. “Miss ray of sunshine is Megan Morse, head of the welcoming committee, and this is Kaldur, junior student body president. Both wanted to met you after Zee spread the word that we got a new transfer.”

Megan came up to her first, giving her a ridiculous hug before she could do anything to prevent it, “welcome to Happy Harbor!” She beamed and stepped back. “I promise, you’re going to absolutely love it here! We’ve got every extracurricular you could possibly think of! Have you ever thought of being a cheerleader? You totally have the body for a spotter and I’m sure my fellow bumblebees would be  _ ecstatic _ to have you! Well, I guess it’s a little late for cheer try-outs now, but  _ next year _ for sure! I’m sure-”

“Thanks,” Artemis shifted awkwardly, “that’s really sweet of you. But, uh, I’m not really the cheering type. Besides, I talked to the archery coach about joining the team and that looks pretty good for me.” She finished with another stiff “thanks” before falling back to silence once she saw Megan’s face fall. 

“Archery is an excellent choice,” Kaldur said, and she looked thankfully at him for saving the dying conversation, “Oliver Queen is an excellent instructor. He’s competed in multiple state competitions and always come away with the gold.” He began walking to the doors, and the three of them followed. “Our school is actually quite famous for a good handful of athletic activities. Along with our archery program, our track and field runners are trained by an olympic silver medalist-”

“Barry Allen,” Artemis butted in, and immediately backtracked when the three of them gave her a puzzled look, “I, uh, read something about him teaching here.” She mumbled, “I mean, online of something. Doesn’t he also teach chemistry or something?”

“Physics, actually,” the already familiar voice of Wally West came from behind her and she felt her fist clench.  _ God,  _ at least she won’t feel as sorry as she normally would for taking him out. Normally, it was good people that her family was contracted to kill. Normal people who hadn’t done anything wrong. But  _ this kid? _ Maybe it’s just that she’s grown numb to all of this after doing it for so long but she’s  _ completely _ fine with ridding the world of this arrogant, rude, son of a- 

“Dude, how the hell do you know this girl?” Wally interrupted her inner monologue by stopping in front of Dick, “And why are you, Megan, and Kal showing her around the school?”

“Wally!” Megan protested, “she’s a new student! Don’t you think it would’ve been nice to have someone show you around the school on your first day?”

“Only if that someone was you, Magalicious.” Couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Yes, she was supposed to be getting closer to him, to find out what she needed to know to make this happen as seamlessly as possible. But how did her dad expect her to get along with  _ that? _ It was like a walking ad for ‘your local douchebag.’ 

“Wally, shut up for once in your life.” Dick nudged him with his elbow, “Look, dude, we’ll be done by first period, so if you don’t want to stick around you don’t have to. But maybe try being a nice person?”

“Whatever,” he readjusted his backpack strap and grumbled something that sounded like curse words but Artemis couldn’t quite make them out, “not like I have anything better to do for the next 20 minutes. So what’s your name, anyway?”

“Artemis,” Megan answered before Artemis could even open her mouth, “and we were just telling her about the sports here,” she looked at Artemis, “Wally here is the captain of the track team. The one with Barry Allen.”

“Yeah,” Artemis nodded, “I bumped into him while he was sprinting off to the track. Looked like you were running a little late,” she smirked, “Apparently someone’s not as fast as he should be.” 

Artemis isn’t going to lie, the shade of red that Wally’s face flared actually was pretty funny. Personally, she thought the scarlet shade  _ really _ complemented the yellow shirt he was wearing. 

“I’ll see you guys at lunch,” he muttered before storming off, and Megan gave a quick worried look between him and Artemis before rushing out “I’ll go check on him” and sprinting off. 

“What?” Artemis asked, giving a confused look to Dick, who was awkwardly running a hand through his gelled hair, “did I cross a line or something? I mean, in my defense, he totally started it.”

“It’s not the fact that you shot back at him,” Dick shrugged, and Artemis saw Kaldur quietly bow out from the corner of her eye, which made her nervous because that meant that shit was about to get personal. “If anything, I’m glad you did, he needs to be knocked down a peg or two every once in awhile. It’s just, well, how fast he is is kind of a low blow. And I get it, you didn’t know that, that’s cool. But it’s just a touchy subject ever since his cousin started Freshman year.”

“Cousin?” She asked, because for all her research she didn’t know that there was a cousin here, too. 

“Yeah, Bart Allen.” Dick shrugged. Wait, Bart Allen? Like Allen as in ‘Barry Allen’ Allen? That would mean that- “Barry, the track coach? He Wally’s uncle. Which, yeah, sounds like unfair favoritism when it comes to Wally being captain and all. But that’s not true. He’s  _ fast, _ like really fast. I’ve known him since he was a kid, and his goal’s always been to make Barry proud of him. And, you know, that was all well and dandy until Bart showed up. If Wally’s fast, than this kid is supersonic. He could lap Wally with time to spare, which hasn’t been great for him. He’s been pushing himself recently, too much if you ask me.

“Look, the point is that I’m fine with making fun of him -I do it all the time- but just leave all of that out of it. He’s been breaking his back trying to be this perfect kid; not just on the track but in school and all of that. So just ease up on that area?”

Artemis nodded, because she did understand. And when she looked over her shoulder she was suddenly slammed with the feeling of  _ guilt, _ which was a dirty word as far as her family was concerned. Crocks didn’t feel guilt. Crocks felt adrenaline rushes and anger. They didn’t have time for real emotions. It felt like she’d just been slammed by a truck. 

 

 

* * *

  
  


She found him by the track at the end of the day. She’d gone through the entire day without saying anything to him because every class they had together, he refused to even look at her.  _ Even _ when they’d been placed as lab partners for chemistry. He’d just grunted a clipped “I’ll do it” before proceeding to do all of the work and go back to ignoring her.

She’d resigned herself to spending her 12 free minutes between leaving her last period and going to the gym (Oliver had emailed her the previous night that -no surprise- she’d been placed on the archery team) attempting to hunt down Wally and apologize. She didn’t like this feeling, this guilt. It made her feel like she owed him something, like  _ she  _ was the one that should be apologizing, when he’d definitely started it. But no matter the reasoning, she wanted it gone. This just happened to be the easiest way to get rid of it.

So she headed to the track, because she had heard that the track team was practicing in half an hour. And, she honestly didn’t know where else he would be. Hey, she was doing recon before she killed him for a reason. 

He was in the bleachers, and she’d only spotted him because of the telltale red hair that could be seen for miles. There were a few kids under the bleachers, doing god knows what, and a few stragglers sitting and watching whatever was happening on the field. She climbed the metal stairs, and cursed Wally for his dramatic flair, because these bleachers were high and the steps were steep. 

“Wally,” Artemis mumbled when she’d finally gotten to the top. She didn’t want to scare him away, least of all in that moment. She and Wally didn’t get along, that was fine. But… If this whole speed problem was such a Thing for him… She wanted to respect that. She knew what it was like, striving to impress a family but always feeling like she was coming up short. 

“What do you want?” He asked, not really looking at her. His eyes were glassy and -was she crazy for thinking this?- looked a little red. He couldn’t have been crying, right? Artemis shoved the thought away for the moment, though. Carefully, she slid onto the bleachers a few feet from him. They were at the top, and Artemis could practically hear the storm brewing behind them. On the field, the cheerleaders were stretching on the track while the football players were throwing balls across the field and watching each other catch it. Artemis could spot Conner and Megan down there, taking every chance to talk to each other. It kind of made her sick to see them being so sweet, but it kind of filled her with hope that good things could still exist in this world.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.” She laced her fingers together, and suddenly her nails were suddenly the most interesting thing on the planet. She found herself subconsciously rubbing her pointer finger over her thumbnail and watching the smear left on her green nail polish appear and disappear. “I didn’t know I was hitting a nerve.”

“Right,” Wally rolled his eyes, still not looking at her, “because you care  _ so much. _ What does it matter to you? It’s not like we’ve had any sort of pleasant conversations.  _ Definitely _ not enough to warrant your sympathy. Not like I asked for it, anyway.”

“It isn’t sympathy, idiot,” She bit back, then took a breathe because damnit, this was supposed to be an apology not a screaming match. “It’s empathy. You’re smart, you should know the difference.”

“I  _ really _ doubt that we’re in remotely the same situation,” Wally scoffed. 

“More similar than you think,” She huffed, “Look, the point is I get it. I understand the feeling of doing everything you possibly can to make your family proud of you and hearing over and over that it’s not good enough. And I understand having a sibling -well, cousin in your case- always overshadowing you.”

Finally, he looked at her. It wasn’t exactly the look Artemis had been hoping for -more confusion than anything- but it was better than nothing. “Who’s your wonderful sibling?” He asked, and Artemis was suddenly taken aback with the fact that he actually seemed genuinely curious. 

Was she actually about to bear her soul to a complete stranger? One that she completely despised, no less?  _ Doesn’t matter, _ she reasoned with herself,  _ he’s going to be dead in a couple months, anyway. Who’s he gonna tell? _

“My sister,” she finally said, “It sounds really dumb, I know, but my dad’s always favored her over me. And I get it, that’s a really petty thing. But he’s really strict on wanting us to get into the family business once we’re done with school, and she’s just always been better at it than I’ve been.” She paused for a second, “Once, Jade -that’s her name. It’s even prettier than mine is- she ran away for about a month. And my dad tore the city we were in at the time apart looking for her. He couldn’t sleep until we finally found her. So I thought, huh, that seems like fun. I left for a whole week before I got scared and came running home. When I got back, he was sitting in the living room with a newspaper in his hands. 

The first thing he said to me wasn’t ‘where were you?’ or ‘we missed you’ or even ‘welcome home, baby girl.’ No, the very first thing he said to me was ‘really, Artemis? A week? Couldn’t do any better than that? Are you even a Crock?’” And for the first time ever, she felt a weight come off her chest. She’d never told that to anybody that, and she’d thought that she never would. But now here she was, telling somebody that she’d been contracted to  _ kill. _ Never in her wildest dreams would she imagine something like this. 

And the worst part? The worst part of this entire ordeal? He looked like he cared. Dammit, he didn’t even  _ look _ like it. He cared. He genuinely care because he knew what it was like. And she’d never felt lighter than she did in that moment. She felt like she could just drift away because that’s something she’s been bottling up inside her for years and she’d finally let it out. 

“You make me sound like a whiny kid,” he smiled in a way that kind of made her stomach tumble. It was like he was trying to lighten the mood but knew that he wasn’t doing a very good job. “My parents love me, it’s my uncle that I want validation from.” He let out a humorless laugh. “For the past two years, I’d spent more time with Dear Old Uncle Berry than anybody else. I went on jogs with him, I trained with him, hell, he was the one that taught me how to drive a car. Not even my own parents.

“He was my idol in every way. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. And for the past two years I thought that that’s all he wanted for me. And then Bart comes along. He’d been at Happy Harbor Middle for the past two years, and I was fine with that. He and I were close by normal standards. But then he comes here and he starts taking over  _ everything.  _ Did you know that he’s on junior varsity track? And the only reason he isn’t on varsity is because freshman can’t compete on varsity. But damn him if it doesn’t stop him from bringing home every award possible. 

“There’s a trophy case right by the front door, has all of our 1st place awards in it? Kal has some medals, Megan’s team has a trophy or two, even the football team has a picture of them winning district playoffs. And there’s an entire section for track. Berry’s picture hangs above it all, because he’s the pride and joy of the athletic department. And right beneath him, I had trophies. Dozens of them. Hurdles and sprints and long-jumps. The whole shebang. But now it’s second quarter and already half of those have been replaced.

“And it’s not just that, too. This kid is so  _ smart, _ Artemis. He built a theoretical time machine on his computer that could theoretically work. He’s figuring out how to bioengineer fruits and vegetables to give more essential nutrients. And he’s popular, too. Everyone just  _ fucking _ loves him. And why shouldn’t they? He’s young and charismatic and helps old people cross the street like the fucking saint he is. Not to mention how  _ progressive _ he is, because he has a boyfriend. Which, you know, cool. Fine. Good for him.  _ Whatever. _ I don’t need to hear at  _ every _ family gathering that ‘oh, did you know that Bart has a  _ boyfriend?’ _ ‘Aren’t you excited that your cousin is a modern person with modern ideals?’ ‘Isn’t it so wonderful that he has a boyfriend even though it’s the fucking 21st century and it shouldn’t matter this much?’”

Artemis didn’t know what to do. She thought that she’d opened herself to him, but that was just the tip of her crazy ice berg. Yet, here he was, making himself vulnerable to her in a way she couldn’t even imagine being. She didn’t have the words to respond with. So, instead of speaking, she acted. She tentatively placed her hand on top of the one that he had set on the metal bench in between them, because this was the only way she’d known to give comfort. She’d used people for her cover before, going as far as to call them her ‘boyfriends’ (or ‘girlfriend’, that one time) and only learned to comfort through affection. Her family had never been helpful in that area, so she’d learned on the fly.

She could feel Wally’s hand twitch underneath her own, but other than that he didn’t move it. He just looked up into her eyes, asking a million questions without a single word.  _ What are you doing? Didn’t we hate each other just this morning? Is this actually happening? Artemis, what the actual fuck?  _ (Okay, maybe that last one was purely her. The point still stood.) 

“I should, um, get going,” she mumbled, stealing her hand back as if she’d been burned. “I have archery stuff and, you know, still trying to find my way around. Sorry, by the way. I didn’t mean to make it awkward.” And she began blundering down the steps again, already feeling her ears going red.

“Artemis,” his voice called out to her, and she stopped immediately to turn around, “this might totally be one of those things that sounded better in my head… But thanks. I, uh, I haven’t really opened up that much to anyone in a while, and I guess I just disliked you enough to think I’d never see you again.” He paused, realizing what had actually come out of his mouth, and backtracked. “I mean,  _ did, _ as in past tense. I would like to see you again. As friends! With the others! Who are also… friends…” He trailed off, casting his eyes down and Artemis suppressed a smile.

“Thanks, Wally. And I’m sorry I’ve been so rude to you these past days. I guess… I guess the craziness of all of this is getting to me. But yeah, I’d like to start over. As friends.” She turned to go again, before pausing once more. “And Wally? It sounded fine, outloud.”

She didn’t look back after that, because she really did need to get going, but she could  _ feel _ him grinning at the back of her head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it, folks. My version of the infamous 'this might've sounded better in my head' scene. As always, feel free to kudo, comment, or a combination of the two.
> 
> Slightly unrelated note: I'm thinking of doing ANOTHER spitfire story, in ANOTHER alternate universe. (Basically, a Modern!Roomate!AU where neither know that the other's a superhero -or villain in Artemis' case, 'cause she'll be dawning the Tigress mantle-, and she and Wally would be enemies. Basically lot's of fun and fluff.) Anywho, I'd love to hear your thoughts down below!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update as frequently as possible, but school's a mess and I've got a show coming up to it's gonna be hectic. Anywho, next chapter we'll be intorducing Bart and Barry and possibly Jaime, but until then, have a good day!


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